Been There All Along
by pinkpanda376
Summary: Hermione is rudely dumped by Viktor Krum. She seeks comfort from an old friend. Oneshot!


**A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! You'll be pleased to know that I'm dedicating most of my free time to writing fics! I even have a notebook for it! And, including the ones that have been posted, I have 17 stories! Yowza! Read, review, and enjoy!**

**Hermione POV**

"Herm-own-ninny, I haff been vanting to talk vith you," said Viktor.

"What about?" I asked, curling up next to him on the couch.

He disengaged himself uncomfortably. I looked at him in confusion. "Vell… I met someone else."

"Someone… else?" I squeaked.

"Yes. Her name is Eliza. She is from Bulgaria, as I am. I love her, and we are going to be married."

"But… Viktor…"

"No," he cut me off coldly. "I do not vish to see you anymore. Please leave."

My eyes filled with tears. "But Viktor… I love you!"

"Yes, vell, I do not love _you_. Now leave."

I began to cry, then spun on the spot, trying to think of a way to escape this pain.

After the usual four seconds of nothingness, I sucked in a deep breath, which promptly turned into a sob .

It was, of course, raining. As I recognized the house I had landed in front of, I ran up to the porch. I pounded on the door, crying loudly, praying he was home.

After a few moments, Ron Weasley opened the door.

**Ron POV **

I opened the door to see Hermione on the porch, sobbing her heart out.

"Oh, my God, Hermione, are you okay?" I asked. "Here, come inside."

I helped her inside. As soon as she was over the threshold, she turned and sobbed into my chest.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" I asked, hugging her close. It killed me to see her like this.

"Viktor!" she managed, still sobbing.

"Is he okay?"

She nodded, but continued crying.

"Did he hurt you?" I asked, now furious. If he had hurt her, I was going to break his neck.

"Not physically," she got out. "He… he… he left me for another woman!"

I held her close. "I'm so sorry, Hermione," I said. "I'm so sorry."

I realized she was shivering. "Merlin, Hermione, you're _freezing_!" I summoned a clean sweatshirt and a pair of pajama pants. "Here. Put these on. I'll make some tea."

She shuffled to the bathroom to change. I set the kettle to boil and got a thick quilt from the closet.

She came back just as the tea was done. I wrapped her in the quilt, handed her a cup of tea, and sat her down on the couch.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"What?" I asked gently.

"What did I do wrong?" she cried softly. She leaned over and b uried her face in my neck, weeping softly.

"Nothing, Hermione, you didn't do anything wrong," I told her, putting my arms around her.

"Yes, I did! I must have!" she cried.

"No. You did nothing wrong. Viktor is the one who's wrong for treating you this way." I was pissed off now, that he would treat her like this, and all I wanted to was go kick his ass.

But I didn't. Gradually, Hermione calmed down. I sat there, holding her. Occasionally, a small shudder ran through her frame, but she didn't cry.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly after some minutes.

"I don't know," she said.

"Well, I'm not about to leave you alone right now, so you're spending the night here," I said.

"I thought he loved me," she whispered, clearly not having heard me.

"I know," I murmured, stroking her hair.

"I guess I'm just stupid," she mumbled. "Anyone would have to be out of his mind to love me."

"That's not true, Hermione."

"How do you know?" she demanded.

"Because _I _love you!" I blurted out.

**Hermione POV**

I stared at Ron, shocked. "You… what?"

"I love you," he repeated, his ears turning pink. "I've always loved you."

I sat back and stared straight ahead. I'd never thought about Ron that way. He was always my best friend, nothing more.

As I thought about it, it became clear to me that it was obvious that he'd loved me for all this time; I was the one who hadn't seen it.

He'd always been the one, I realized. He was the one who had always made me feel like myself when I was around him. Not the braniac, top of every class. Not the invisible wallflower I'd always felt like. Not the bossy know-it-all that everyone else saw.

He saw me for _me_—and he loved me _because _I was me. And I realized that I loved him too.

"I love you too," I murmured. And I really did. I knew now that I truly loved him… had always loved him.

Slowly, he leaned forward to kiss me. As our lips met, I somehow knew that we would be together. All my life, I'd been searching for my soul mate, the love of my life.

And he'd been there all along… My best friend.


End file.
